If you’re trying to scale your search arbitrage operation, you need to master keyword optimization!
Using the wrong keywords will drain your budget and prevent your growth, regardless of how good your paid advertising strategy is.
In this article, we’ll show you how to find high-potential keywords for search arbitrage; how to test them manually or with the help of automation; and how to easily analyze keyword performance.
Where to Find Keywords for Search Arbitrage
First, you need to start with some keyword research. This research will be your compass and help you figure out which keywords are trending in your vertical. It’s also going to help you pinpoint keywords with high volume and low competition.
Many search arbitrage marketers are using a mix of free and paid keyword research tools. The easiest option is to use Google Ads Keyword Planner. This is a free tool, and it can help you identify winning keywords.
You simply need to log into your Google Ads account, go to Tools, Keyword Planner, and Discover new keywords.
Here, you can input keywords that best describe your vertical. In this case, we’re using “solar panels” as an example, and focusing on the US. If you click on Get results, you’ll see a list of related keywords.
This overview gives you a good idea of the search volumes, competition, and bid range for each keyword. You can use these suggested keywords to generate even more results, and finally select which ones you wish to test on your parked domain.
Another way to use Google Ads Keyword Planner is by first searching for your vertical keyword, in our case “solar panels”, on Google. Save a few domains from the sponsored ads that show up in your results.
Next, paste the saved domain on Keyword Planner and click on Get results. You’ll get a list of keywords this site is using to drive paid traffic to.
Apart from Google Ads Keyword Planner, you can also use other tools such as Ubersuggest (free), Ahrefs (paid), Semrush (paid), or any other reputable keyword research tools.
Although keyword research can provide you with a great starting point, your work is far from done. Most of these keyword research tools are showing results based on what people search for online. However, with search arbitrage, users will click on an ad and land on a parked domain. They are not actively searching for anything, which presents a different scenario. This means that you’ll still need to constantly test and fine-tune your keywords until you find something that works for your specific use case.
How to Optimize Keywords for Search Arbitrage Manually
This brings us to what is called the keyword optimization loop – you test out a few different keywords, analyze their performance, make the necessary adjustments based on results, and repeat this process continuously.
If you are doing this process manually (meaning, without using any tracking or optimization tools), you will usually need to place your chosen keywords in the URL string of the link you’re promoting. This can be a time-consuming process, and in most cases your ads will go under review again every time you change your keywords.
Each time you make adjustments to your keywords, you need to analyze the results. Most search feed providers have built-in reports that can give you a rough idea of how your keywords are performing. For more detailed analytics, you need to use a third-party tracker (more on this below).
Based on the results, you need to constantly optimize your keywords and repeat the above process continuously.
This is a good approach if you’re just getting started with search arbitrage, but if you plan to scale fast and invest a higher budget on your operation, you will most likely need an easier solution. Keyword optimization is key to your success in search arbitrage, so you will need to be able to test and analyze different keywords in an efficient way.
This is where ClickFlare’s unique keyword builder feature comes in handy.
How to Optimize Keywords for Search Arbitrage Automatically
ClickFlare.io is a tracking platform that offers advanced solutions for search arbitrage. We have developed a keyword rotator that has helped hundreds of search arbitrage media buyers save time and scale their campaigns quicker.
And it’s all very simple. Our user-friendly keyword builder has built-in keyword templates for each feed, so you don’t need to worry about using the right syntax every time. You just need to select the right feed provider (under Affiliate Network), and we make sure to use the right syntax in the background for you. You can also assign weights to each keyword set based on the research you did earlier.
Inside ClickFlare, you can see up-to-date keyword reports that will show you which keywords are driving higher ROIs.
The above report is a comparison between different keyword sets. If you are using dynamic macros, such as {city}, you can see performance breakdowns for both the unreplaced (e.g., {city}), and the replaced (e.g., Seattle) keywords.
You can even see performance breakdowns for each single keyword that was clicked. Read more about how this works here.
This keyword builder works for both AFD and RSOC feeds, and it covers the top search feed providers including Tonic, System1, Sedo, Ads.com, ExplorAds, DomainActive and more.
Other Factors That Affect Keyword Performance
Although keyword research and optimization are key, there are still external factors that could affect your keyword performance.
First, most search feed providers automate keyword optimization to some extent. They want you to succeed and send more quality traffic towards the parked domains, so they will do their best to maximize revenue-per-click (RPCs).
Having said that, the quality of traffic you’re driving to the parked domain also matters. You can use a tool such as TheOptimizer to manage your paid ads on autopilot (automatically block bad publisher sites, pause ads/campaigns, manage bids/budgets etc) to ensure that you’re fully optimizing the traffic you’re sending.
Sometimes, upstream providers (such as Google) override keywords to optimize the buy side for search ads in their network. This is outside of your control, but you can lower the percentage of overridden keywords by refining your ad titles. A good ad title is compliant, it grabs attention by communicating value (immediately conveying the benefit of your offer), and it sparks action.
Conclusion
Keyword optimization is key in scaling your search arbitrage campaigns and generating higher revenue-per-click. You can use popular free or paid keyword research tools to find high-potential keywords, and then test & fine-tune them continuously.
The keyword optimization loop of testing, analyzing results, and adjusting your keywords can be time consuming and complicated to perform manually. A tracking tool like ClickFlare can help by automatically rotating different keywords within the same offer, and giving up-to-date performance breakdowns. The highly anticipated keyword auto-optimization feature is also coming soon, so stay tuned!
When optimizing your keywords, make sure you’re also sending quality traffic and using compliant, powerful ad titles for better results.
Want to find out how ClickFlare can help you scale your search arbitrage campaigns? Let’s have a quick chat and one of our experts will answer all your questions! Book your call.
